Hey Everyone

I had the incling my HG was leaking somewhere due to small miss on start up etc and losing coolant, silly me to wait this long. After taking it into local mechanic and saying its over heating etc losing coolant and I think the HG is gone he does the radiator and water pump which were leaking some but after pressure test says HG is OK. One week later things are very bad so into a good workshop. They inform yup the Hg is gone and I am looking at $2500 to 3500 for this repair including possible head machining??? They also said more if the block is warped ie new engine, this got me a little I would have thought warping the block would be quite an extreme case??? From what I have read Range/Land Rover would only charge 2500 for this so it looks like I will have a crack at this myself.

I am a mech engineer with allot of experience ripping anything apart however always shy away from things that directly cost me money. Go figure I guess even though I dont usually screw anything else up so yeah.

I have just brought the Kit of AB and the Bolt Kit also, and just got the Rave manual. I guess I am just asking if there is any tip where you know I will be scratching my head etc. Also is there anything else I should do, I did the plugs two weeks back and will do the leads also this week. What sort of time frame should I expect as a guideline.

Thanks!!!

 

re: From what I have read Range/Land Rover would only charge 2500 for this

Not sure whre you are, but dealerships normally do head gasket jobs for a lot more than that. Indys seem in the $1700 - $2500 range.

Now being an ME, you are well prepared to do this yourself. The kit of parts, including new "torque to yield" bolts is about $300. Machine shops near me have been known to skim the heads for $200, but this can be higher in some places.

A pro shop charges about 12 hours of labor for this job. Budget two weekends of your time, with machine shop inbetween.

As for flatness and warping, if you were not having gross overheat, heat gauge way above 50%, or worse, white smoke out tail pipe, boiling coolant bursting hose connections, etc., it is less likely that you will have caused the block to warp. Here's a page for the warp spec for the heads. The head is considered in need of machining if "out of flat" by .002 inch, for the non-engineers, that is about half the thickness of your printer paper, which is around .0038 inch.

The number of head gasket jobs posted about on this site is high, the number of warped blocks is very low.

There is also a DVD you can buy that shows the process, and hundreds of posts on this site you can search. AC compressor will lay to one side.

 

Thanks SB, one more thing when I am reading through the Rave manual I note I need to replace some of the Rocker Cover Bolts with some "Patched" multi Hex bolts?? Do I need to do this?? AB did not note anything barring the head bolts. I guess this is my first of many clarifications!!

 

The valve - rocker covers use an 8mm 12 point bolt, not sure why there would be a need to change, but they do need to be snugged at each oil change. Other than the head bolts, eveything else goes back on. Good idea to take plenty of pix and/or video for yourself, plus "inventory" bolts by sticking them in big sheet of cardboard, with notes about where they came from, even a crude layout or plan. Pay attention to valley pan bolts, many have reported finding them finger tight. It will be mucho easier to replace plug wires when you take off part of the intake. You can also take a moment with a borrowed pressure gauge to check fuel pressure - test fitting is at the back of engine.

 

I'm still not clear about one thing Sava. If anything warps you need to machine the block and the heads?

 

Typically only the heads need to be machined. They are much more prone to warping than a block. I would imagine that very few people that have done their own head gaskets have even checked the block for straightness.

 

ok good i guess. i just bought the full AB kit for the D2.

 

First, what year is your truck, does it have say and have you ever changed your plug wires yet?
Items you will want to still order, 8 mm silicone wires like STI's or Magnecor's, new soft spring t/stat, small container of head bolt thread lube, small tube of Blue Locktite, couple cans of carb cleaner, i tube of a good gasket sealant, anti-seize for the plugs and some die electric. I would also suggest you drain your coolant system and go green replacing the Dexcool and add a bottle of Water Wetter for the coolant.
If you have some questions, PM me your number and I'll call you.
Mike

 

So I did the job over the weekend and everything looks good.

However when I started I have a miss. I am going to plug her in tonight and see whats happening. I did do the plug wires and went to Napa for these, they gave me 7mm run of the mill models. I am thinking this could be the cause by it self???

What is the big problem with the different leads everyone seems to have, I will look at buying some 8mm ones today.

 

you did what job. the head gaskets or the wires and plugs?